Overview
Gaining clear visibility of the true costs of its products and services was the key objective for an international financial services organisation that provides credit card and other services to businesses and individuals.
Steering the company through an analysis of the centralised costs of the business was one of Novo Altum’s directors, enabling it to better understand the profitability and ownership costs of each enterprise unit.
His cost management and performance improvement strategy identified significant, sustainable savings of c.$10m. Delivered ahead of schedule and on budget, the client described the project as one of its most successful ever.
The Challenge
The CEO had thrown down the gauntlet, declaring that a “relentless focus on performance” was essential.
Having consolidated the middle and back office functions into a shared services environment, it was clear that the company now required a mechanism to allow these centralised costs to be re-charged to the various business units. Our director recognised the need for a system that would provide transparency for the profitability of each unit, and create accountability for the costs they incurred.
It would also have to deliver significant savings, providing a clear understanding of cost drivers within the business, and fostering collaboration between service users and providers to improve efficiency.
The Solution
Novo Altum’s director established a joint client / consultant project team to develop an activity-based cost model and business performance enhancement system. This approach was key to gaining consensus on both strategy and solution, taking the client through the whole process, from cost analysis, including mapping costs against the business’ activities, to developing a prototype system from which a sustainable solution could be implemented.
Alongside all this, he developed a parallel work stream to analyse the information obtained to develop further business improvement opportunities.
Results
By focusing on dual objectives – to deliver both an on–going cost management solution and rapid performance improvement – our director provided the methodology, expertise, project skills and programme knowledge to drive this initiative to a successful conclusion.
The client was able to achieve a significant return on its investment in a short timeframe, on budget and ahead of schedule. Impressive cost savings of c.$10m were identified and the client described the project as one of the most successful it had ever undertaken.